Society

Olympic organizer: Storm to be watched closely

Aug 06 (NHK) - The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee says officials are carefully watching an approaching tropical storm in order to prepare for a possible impact on the Games.

Committee spokesperson Takaya Masanori was speaking at a news conference on Friday.

Weather officials are warning that Tropical Storm Mirinae may approach eastern Japan on Saturday evening through Sunday.

Takaya said that committee officials are prepared for a range of contingencies. But he declined to give details of the preparations, saying such information could cause confusion. He promised to promptly provide updated information when available.

The Meteorological Agency says Mirinae was moving east-northeast at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour at 3 p.m. on Friday in waters 250 kilometers northeast of the island of Minami Daitojima in Okinawa.

The tropical storm has a central atmospheric pressure of 990 hectopascals and is packing winds of up to 72 kilometers per hour and maximum gusts of 108 kilometers per hour near its center.

As the storm approaches, rain and winds could intensify in the wide areas surrounding Tokyo from Saturday.

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